при което
Linking an Outcome with При Което
При което adds what happened during or because of the event you just described: Колата се удари в дърво, при което пострада шофьорът. (The car hit a tree, and the driver was injured in the crash.)
How It Works
1. What it refers to. The neuter което stands for the entire situation in the first clause, as in which referring to a whole clause. При adds "during this" or "in this event":
- Колата се удари в дърво, при което пострада шофьорът. (The car hit a tree, and the driver was injured in the crash.)
- Температурата падна под нулата, при което тръбите замръзнаха. (The temperature fell below zero, and the pipes froze.)
2. Circumstance or outcome. The second clause may describe something that happened at the same time as the first event or as its result. Often it is both. For an explicit cause-and-effect link in formal style, you can also use в резултат на or следователно.
3. When it refers to one noun. If при + a relative word refers to a specific noun, the relative word agrees with that noun, as in any relative clause: срещата, при която (the meeting at which), опитите, при които (the experiments in which). So при което refers either to a neuter noun or to the whole clause.
4. Word order. The subject often comes after the verb in the second clause, which puts the new information at the end: при което пострада шофьорът. See subject after the verb.
5. Register. При което sounds formal. In everyday speech, Bulgarians simply say и: Колата се удари в дърво и шофьорът пострада.
Punctuation: always put a comma before при което, because it starts a relative clause. See commas before subordinate clauses.
Examples (5)
- Колата се удари в дърво, при което пострада шофьорът.
The car hit a tree, and the driver was injured in the crash.
- Температурата падна под нулата, при което тръбите замръзнаха.
The temperature fell below zero, and the pipes froze.
- В склада избухна пожар, при което изгоря цялата стока.
A fire broke out in the warehouse, and all the goods burned.
- Двамата се скараха, при което Иван напусна срещата.
The two of them argued, and during the argument Ivan left the meeting.
- Проведе се гласуване, при което 20 депутати гласуваха против.
A vote was held in which 20 MPs voted against.
Here което agrees with the neuter noun гласуване.
Common Mistakes
Making the relative word agree with a noun when it refers to the whole event.
Автобусът спря рязко, при който паднаха двама пътници.Автобусът спря рязко, при което паднаха двама пътници.При който would point to автобусът alone. The passengers fell because of the sudden stop, the whole event, so use при което.
Leaving out the comma before при което.
Колата се удари в дърво при което пострада шофьорът.Колата се удари в дърво, при което пострада шофьорът.При което starts a relative clause, and a relative clause after the main clause is separated by a comma.
How It Connects
Learn This First
При което follows което.
- Clause + коетоWhich Referring to a Whole Clause
It is a relative linking to a clause.
Level 4 - приAt Someone's Place with При
При contributes the sense of circumstance or time to при което.
Level 3 - Subject After the Verb
Subject inversion places new information after the verb in при което пострада шофьорът.
Level 5
Related Patterns
- който/която/което/коитоRelative Clauses with Който
When при refers to a single noun, the relative word agrees with it: при която, при които.
Level 3 - в резултат на/вследствие наAs a Result of
Another formal way to present a result.
Level 5 - Commas Before Subordinate Clauses
The relative clause with при което is set off by a comma.
Level 3 - Nominal Style
При което is typical of the formal, report-style writing described there.
Level 5
Words in This Pattern
Practice при което in Bubblegum
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